Nintendo Respond to Gay Marriage and Miiquality in Tomodachi Life

Nintendo have issued a statement in response to a fan petition on including gay marriage in Tomodachi Life.

As a life simulator, there are players who would naturally want to have characters of the same gender to pair up, have a relationship and inevitably marry. However, aside from a glitch uncovered by players in Japan, the upcoming game officially doesn't allow for same-sex partnerships.

In a response to the Associated Press, Nintendo stated that the company "never intended to make any form of social commentary", with the options available in the 3DS game representing a "playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation". The intention, from the developers, was to create a "whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary."

Given the lack of gay marriages in the original Japanese edition, the same code "was used to localize it for other regions outside of Japan", Nintendo said.

However, Nintendo will use "this as an opportunity to better understand our consumers and their expectations of us" and are promising to "broaden our approach to development whenever possible."

The fan campaign, known as #Miiquality, has a Facebook Page to try to rally support with a dedicated hashtag and video to try and urge Nintendo to change its stance:

Should Nintendo have embraced equal relationships in Tomodachi Life?